This evening I went to the Transport Working Group, part of the local area forum which is putting together a Neighbourhood Plan.
Neighbourhood planning is a new way for communities to have a say in the future of the places where they live and work. It gives you the power to produce a plan with real legal weight that directs development in your local area. (GOV.UK - make a neighbourhood plan).
We have several working groups looking at housing, retail and commercial development and open spaces. Somehow, by accident, I found myself on the Transport Working Group.
Tonight's meeting was looking at the results of the community survey. Gratifyingly, many of the outcomes reflected issues and positions that had been aired in the Working Group. Some were surprising, but in a good way!
Oadby and Wigston are the next door borough and, to get to the city centre or to the major hospital means passing through the Neighbourhood Plan area; any new developments are likely to increase congestion and poor air quality.
Nearly 70% of respondents favoured the introduction of Home Zones where pedestrians and cyclists are favoured over cars and other vehicles. Home zones are especially suitable for short narrow streets that are not through routes.
This result probably produced the most smiles among working group members. We hadn't expected such high positive responses.
Cycling and cyclists probably created the most contention in discussion, with inconsiderate cyclists vying strongly with very poor council decision-making about cycle lanes and safe provision for cyclists at junctions. Only about 25% of respondents felt safe when they were cycling, though, which led to thes questions. Cycling is one of the areas where the biggest, most effective, improvements could be made.
At the next meeting we will start to draft the policies, based on the survey results, that the Transport Working Group will recommend for inclusion in the Neighbourhood Plan.
My big contribution to this has been getting walking included as a form of transport, and questions about adequate street lighting, walking surfaces and crossings, and walking hazards and impediments (mostly cars parked on pavements and at junctions) included in the survey.
For some reason I'm not able to post my 
